A Family's Love
by Dani-Ellie03
Summary: Though Charming was glad to hear the confirmation of his theory, he was now left with a conundrum. His poor baby girl was dehydrated but they were out in the middle of the woods without any way to get her the water she'd need to make the trek back to civilization. Fantastic.
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:** An anonymous prompter on Tumblr asked if I could do a similar story to "Safeguard" set in Storybrooke where Emma gets injured on the job and Charming has to take care of her. We all know I cannot resist the siren song of Daddy Charming, so here we be! I adapted the prompt a tetch (you'll see how) just so I don't end up repeating myself too much. Mama Snow, Captain Swan, and some Swan Believer will show up in future chapters (because I cannot resist their siren songs, either ;)). Feedback makes every day like Christmas! Enjoy. :)

* * *

Emma Swan hated wild goose chases, which made it all the more unfortunate that she was beginning to suspect she was on one.

Some kid had called the station earlier to inform her of a kitten stuck in a tree in the east woods. She wasn't entirely sure a stuck kitten was really the sheriff's purview but considering what she usually dealt with, she'd take it.

"Are you sure the kid said the east woods?" David asked as he trudged along the path at her side.

Since Emma wasn't even sure rescuing a stuck kitten was part of the sheriff's duties, the call certainly hadn't required both of them. Things had been fairly quiet in Storybrooke, though, ever since Belle banished Gold outside the town line. With the unexpected peace came a lull in their normal villain-chasing, which meant the sheriffs could actually act as sheriffs instead of superheroes.

It was in acting as an actual sheriff that Emma had discovered that she really had no patience for paperwork. She'd also discovered that her father shared the same impatience so when he'd asked to come along, she'd shrugged and said, "Whatever floats your boat."

"Yeah," she replied now, somewhat out of breath. "He definitely said he east woods. Said he watched the poor thing dart up the tree and could hear it crying but couldn't get it to climb back down."

Which was fine except they'd been all over the east woods in the last hour and had seen neither hide nor hair of a mewling kitten. Hence why Emma was beginning to think they'd been sent on a wild goose chase. She sighed and turned to her father. "Are you thinking what I'm thinking?"

"That there is not and never was a kitten in a tree?" David asked.

So he was. She drew to a stop on the path and sighed again. The sun was beating down on her head through the trees and she suddenly wished she'd thought to bring some water along on this trek.

"The kid sounded sincere on the phone, though," she said to her father. At least, she'd thought he had but there was clearly no kitten to be found out here. Hell, she couldn't even imagine a kid coming all the way out here on his own. Most of the paths dead-ended so it wasn't even like there was anything to explore.

David glanced around, squinting as he tried to get his bearings. After a moment, he nodded. "Here's what we'll do." He pointed to an offshoot of the path they'd been following. "I believe this path here leads to the toll bridge. If there was a kid out here, this is the path he would have taken because the others dead-end. We'll follow this path and if we find the kitten before we hit the bridge, great. If we don't–"

"There probably never was a kitten," she nodded. "Sounds like a plan."

They started down the path in silence. Emma didn't know how David really felt about this excursion but she was kicking herself for traipsing all the way out here for nothing, never mind dragging her dad along for the ride. Er, hike. Whatever.

Normally she was better at picking up on bullshit than this. But the kid had sounded so sincere and the thought of a tiny kitten stuck in a tree had stirred something inside her, some little memory of how frightening it was to be alone in the world. To not know where her next meal was coming from, to not have someone to comfort her when she was scared. And yeah, it was a kitten, not a person, but she didn't want the kitten to feel that way, either, so she'd charged ahead with the rescue.

Which was apparently a stupid thing to do because it was clear now that there was never a kitten at all. Now she was in the middle of the woods, out of breath from their trek, sweating under the hot sun, and frustrated as all get-out. She would have killed for a gulp or two of cold water. She sighed again. "Dad, I'm sorry."

David frowned at her. "For what?"

She arched an eyebrow at him. "For what? For dragging you out here on a nonexistent rescue."

Her dad grasped her hand and tugged her to a stop on the path. "First of all, you didn't drag me out here. I offered to come. Second of all, there's nothing to apologize for. You were just trying to help a defenseless baby animal."

"But there is no baby animal."

"That's not your fault, kiddo. What if you'd ignored the call and there really was a kitten stuck in a tree?"

Okay, maybe he had a point. She shot him a grateful smile and he smiled back. "Point taken," she said. "All right, let's get the hell out of here."

"Works for me."

They walked on in comfortable silence. The only sounds were the chirping of the birds, the rustling of the low brush on either side of them, and the crunching of the leaves beneath their feet. The trees had thinned out somewhat, which let the sun beat down directly on their heads.

After a couple of minutes, Emma's mouth ran dry. How much longer to the toll bridge? (Not that she intended to drink the water from the stream but it would be nice to swish for a few seconds.) It took her a moment or two to realize that her dad had picked up his pace and was now a good ten feet ahead of her.

Only then did she notice the absence of sounds. Or not absence, exactly; more like a dulling. She could hear them but it sounded like she had something in her ears. Her throat and tongue felt like sandpaper. It wasn't until the white spots began darting in front of her eyes as the rest of her vision tunneled that she realized what was happening and by then, it was too late. "Dad, wait," she called but instead of the shout it was in her head, it came out as a croak.

She saw him turn around, saw the panic on his face, and then she saw nothing.

* * *

Charming swore his heart stopped beating when he turned on the path to find his baby girl pale and swaying on her feet. Then she started to go down and it was like a spell had broken. He closed the ten or so feet between them in a fraction of a second and caught her under her arms before she hit the ground. He gently guided her to the forest floor, bracing the back of her head with his palm, all the while calling her name in an attempt to bring her around.

What the hell had happened?! She'd been fine when they left. She'd been fine during the hike. Hell, she'd been fine when she talked to him not even five minutes earlier! This couldn't be magic; if there was someone in town who'd wanted to hurt her, they would have known about it.

No, this wasn't magic. It was something physical. Her face was practically devoid of color. Her breathing seemed normal, if still a little labored from their walk. He shook her shoulders but all he got in response was a groan.

It was on the third call of her name that she stirred. A soft whimper turned into a groan as she started to regain consciousness. Her eyelids fluttered and eventually dragged open. "Dad?" she asked groggily.

She sounded so young, so much like the little girl Charming wished he could have known. It was all he could do not to drag her onto his lap and cradle her like the little girl she once was.

A disoriented Emma tried to sit up but Charming held her down. The last thing he wanted for her to lose consciousness again. "Shh, easy, kiddo. Take it slow, all right?" His stubborn baby girl wriggled under his grasp. "Emma, stop."

Her still hazy eyes flashed in annoyance at the command but she did obey. "What happened?"

"I was kind of hoping you could tell me. You called out and then just collapsed. How are you feeling now?"

She frowned. "Hot. Tired. Thirsty." And then the haze cleared. "I passed out."

"Yes." Now that she was thinking clearly, he felt comfortable allowing her to move. "Do you think you can try sitting up?"

"Yeah."

Charming held one hand out to her, which she grasped, and placed his other hand behind her back as he slowly helped her sit. Once she was upright, he continued to hold her and watched her face to make sure she was all right. When it appeared as if she was going to stay conscious, he let out a breath of relief.

He ran over what she'd said when he'd asked how she felt. She'd felt hot and tired, which was normal of someone just regaining consciousness. But thirsty … "Emma, were you thirsty before you passed out?"

"What?"

His poor baby girl was still struggling somewhat to catch up. He smiled gently at her. "When you first came around, I asked how you felt and you said you were thirsty. Do you remember feeling thirsty before you passed out?"

She frowned as she mulled over the question. "Actually, yeah. My mouth was really dry and I remember thinking I couldn't wait to get to the toll bridge because there'd be water there."

So it was as he thought. Though Charming was glad to hear the confirmation of his theory, he was now left with a conundrum. His poor baby girl was dehydrated but they were out in the middle of the woods without any way to get her the water she'd need to make the trek back to civilization.

Fantastic.

Then what Emma had said struck him. The toll bridge! That was the answer, not just because Emma could get something to drink there but also because there was a road, which meant an ambulance could meet them there.

His baby girl wasn't going to be at all enthused about the idea of the ambulance but frankly, Charming didn't care. If she was dehydrated enough to pass out, she needed more than a couple sips of stream water to replenish her fluids. He shut his eyes and tried to visualize the distance to the toll bridge from their position. It was farther than he really liked but it was doable. They'd just have to go slow so as not to tax Emma's dehydrated system.

Charming opened his eyes and returned his gaze to his sick baby girl. The color was returning to her cheeks, thank the heavens. "The bridge is our best bet but you should rest another few minutes. I just have to make a couple calls and then we'll get going."

"You're not calling Mom, are you?" Emma groaned.

A relieved chuckle escaped Charming's lips. At least she was starting to sound like herself again. "Sorry, kiddo, she's second on my list. She had my head when I didn't call her about the ice cave and I'd rather not repeat that experience."

Emma gave a little smile at that. "Dare I ask who's first on the list, then?" She got it after a second. "You're calling an ambulance."

"Yes, I am."

He was prepared for an argument. He was prepared to offer her the slew of reasons why her fainting spell required a trip to the emergency room but the argument never came. Instead, she simply heaved a resigned sigh. "Wonderful."

In an effort to calm her obvious exasperation with the entire situation, Charming smiled at her. "Not exactly how you imagined your day going when you woke up this morning, is it?"

"No, not so much. This is so embarrassing."

"Hey, this stuff happens. No need to be embarrassed."

She leveled a loving glare at him. "You're not the one who's going to be sitting in an ambulance."

He chuckled. "All right, point taken."

Then she did something that filled his heart to the brim with love: she shifted closer to him and nestled her head on his shoulder. All of a sudden, the years seemed to melt away and he felt like his little girl _was_ a little girl, one who seeking comfort from her daddy.

Charming wrapped his arm around Emma's shoulders and for a long beat, he just held her. Then she pulled out of the embrace and heaved a sigh. "Okay, fine, call the ambulance and then call Mom. Let's get this over with. Oh, and Dad?"

"Yes?"

"Can you call Killian, too?"

He smiled and brushed his thumb down his little girl's cheek. After the panic of the last few minutes, he'd give her anything she wanted. "Of course, kiddo." And then, because he knew his daughter, he decided to go with a joke. "You sure you're ready for this? Things are going to be pretty annoying from here on out."

She smiled. "Not at all but let's do it anyway."

It was all he could do to resist the urge to hug her again and never let her go. "That's my girl."


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's Note:** You guys are so awesome. Thank you for the follows and favorites and reviews! Here be the next part! :)

* * *

When David said things were going to get annoying, he certainly wasn't kidding. First on Emma's annoyance list was the fact that her dad wouldn't even let her stand up. "Dad, I'm fine now," she insisted when he gently placed his hands on her shoulders to hold her down.

"Yes, well, forgive me if I don't want to have to watch you hit the ground a second time."

"Technically, I didn't even hit the ground the first time," she grumbled. "You said you caught me before I could."

The exasperated look he gave her in response shut her right up. Which was completely unfair, by the way. The no-nonsense-dad look shouldn't work on her at her age.

All right, fine, she supposed she could stay seated for a few more minutes, however unnecessary a precaution it may be. She wasn't happy about it, though.

Once he was certain that she was in fact going to do as instructed, David pulled out his cell phone. While he made the call, Emma sat in silence and tried to come to terms with how quickly her day had shifted course. In some ways, it was easier fighting fairy tale villains. At least then she knew what to expect, for the most part. She knew to always be on guard, do her research, gear up for the next fight. It was … hell, it was _routine_.

These quiet days were something else. The biggest dilemma facing her when she walked into the station that morning was whether to order fries or onion rings with her lunch. Now here she sat on the forest floor after passing out from dehydration with an ambulance ride and a visit to the ER in her immediate future.

(Oh God, Dr. Whale better not admit her. She was only going to the hospital at all because David didn't seem like he was offering her a choice. Something told her refusing to stay if they tried to admit her wasn't going to be an option, either. Holy _crap_ , how embarrassing.)

David disconnected the call with the ambulance dispatcher and then proceeded to dial Snow. Emma shut her eyes and let her shoulders slump in resignation as she listened to her dad's side of the conversation. "Hi, Snow. Listen, everything's fine but Emma passed out while we were on patrol and … yes, she's absolutely fine. I'm pretty sure she's dehydrated. Yes, she's awake now." Emma rolled her eyes, causing David to swallow a chuckle. "Yes, I can put her on. Hold on a second."

Her eye-roll reflex in overdrive, Emma snatched the phone from her father's outstretched hand. "I'm fine, Mom. I don't even think I was out more than thirty seconds."

"Oh, Emma, I'm so glad you're all right! Thirty seconds or not, passing out is not a good thing. You just sit tight and listen to your father and I'll meet the two of you at the hospital."

"You don't have to–"

"I'll drop Neal off with Granny and then head over there." Emma sighed. Clearly her mom wasn't offering her a choice, either. "I'll see you in a little bit, sweetheart. I love you."

"Love you, too, Mom." Snow clicked off before Emma could once again try to insist she stay home with her baby brother.

Emma handed the phone back to her father with another sigh. "Mom's going to meet us at the hospital. Apparently she thinks I need an entourage."

"You're her little girl and you're sick," David said gently. "She just wants to take care of you and make sure you're all right."

"I'm not sick."

"I think the loss of consciousness might disagree with you."

"But I'm fine now. You just said so yourself."

David let out a breath through his nose as he sat down beside her on the ground. "You're not fine now, Emma. You're awake and you're better than you were a few minutes ago but you're not fine. You're still dehydrated, probably even more so now because you were sweating when you came to. We still have to get you from here to the toll bridge before we meet up with the ambulance and they still need to replenish your fluids at the hospital. I know you're embarrassed and I know you think we're overreacting and you know what? Maybe we are but if so, we're only reacting like this because we love you."

The lost little girl who still resided within Emma longed to throw her arms around her father at his words. That little girl had spent her entire life waiting to hear those words, waiting to know that she was loved. Every wish she ever sent into the ether, every prayer she made to whoever was listening, she'd wanted parents and a family and someone to care for her, someone to love her.

Emma didn't even realize that a couple of tears had leaked from her eyes until David reached over and dried her cheeks with his thumbs. "Now, why don't you tell me what's really on your mind? I know there's more to this than your being embarrassed."

A few weeks ago, she probably would have insisted that nothing else was on her mind. Now, though … now she had a family who loved her. She had parents who wanted to make sure she was all right. She had a dad who wanted so badly to make her feel better, to set her mind at ease. And so she found herself telling him the truth. "I just … don't want to be a burden."

The words hit David like a sucker punch. He closed his eyes for the briefest of moments, clearly able to figure out that somewhere along the line – or maybe everywhere along it – his little girl had been made to feel like a burden when she was ill and needed some TLC. Then he opened them again and turned an insistent, loving, sincere gaze on his daughter. "Emma, listen to me. You are _not_ a burden. Not at all. You're sick and we're going to be there for you while you get better because we love you and because we want to, all right?"

She nodded, swallowing the lump that had formed in her throat.

David responded by pressing a kiss to her forehead. "Now," he said when he pulled away, the teasing twinkle in his eye letting Emma know that the emotional roller-coaster portion of this conversation was thankfully over, "do you want to call Killian or do you want me to call him?"

"I'll call him," Emma said as she held out her hand for her dad's phone.

"You don't trust me to break the news gently?" David teased, handing over the device. "I'm hurt!"

She wrinkled her nose at him as she scrolled through his contacts. It took her a moment to find Killian's number because he wasn't listed under 'Hook' or 'Killian' but 'Pirate.' "Really, Dad?" she asked, holding the phone up.

"I, um, put his number in there back when you first gave him his phone." The 'when I still didn't really trust him' was implied. "I just haven't changed his contact name yet."

With a shake of her head, Emma edited the contact info to read 'Killian.' Then she touched the call button and waited for her pirate to answer.

A slightly panicked Killian picked up after a ring and a half. "Dave? Is Emma all right?"

"Killian, it's me."

"Swan? Your father's name appeared on my talking phone's window. Is he all right?"

Despite the situation she'd suddenly found herself in, a smile tugged at her lips. His habit of making up alternate names for modern technology was ridiculously endearing. "Yeah, I'm just using his phone. Listen, I have to tell you something."

"This doesn't bode well."

"I promise I'm okay but we were in the woods on what turned out to be a wild goose chase and I passed out. We think I'm dehydrated so when we get out of here, I'm going to go to the hospital to get checked out."

For a long beat, Killian was silent. Then he drew in a shaky breath and said, "Are you sure you're all right?"

"Yes, I'm fine."

"All right, love. I'll meet you at the hospital."

Another sigh escaped her lips as she idly wondered what the official capacity of a room at the ER was. The last thing she needed was to have anyone lecture her family on fire codes or something. Still, there was that lost little girl again, jumping up and down at the prospect of being so loved and so cared for and so cherished. "All right, see you in a bit."

She disconnected the call and handed the phone back to her father. "He's coming, too. I hope the hospital is expecting Emma Swan and company."

David chuckled. "I'm sure they are, kiddo. Now all that's left is to get you to the ambulance. Do you want to try standing up now?"

God, did she ever. "Yes, please."

The slight lingering dizziness made attempting to move a slow process. Still, with her dad holding onto her in case she felt faint again, she managed to push herself to her feet. "You feel all right?" he asked when she was standing up straight.

"Yeah," she answered, though she was starting to think she probably should have stayed sitting. Her head was spinning, not in a dizzy, lightheaded way like before but in a kind of tired confusion, like when all the voices in a crowded room faded into an indistinct din. "How far is it to the toll bridge from here?"

"A couple hundred yards, give or take," David answered, his worried eyes running over every inch of her face. "You think you're up for it?"

No, she didn't really think she was but she didn't have much of a choice.

"Emma, look at me." She shifted her gaze over to her father, who smiled gently through his concern. "If you don't think you can make the walk, we can have the paramedics come to us. They'll get to the bridge before we do, anyway."

A shout of their names saved her from making the decision. The paramedics had indeed made it to the bridge before they did and had decided to go looking for their charge. David and Emma shared a relieved smile as David hollered back to let them know where they were on the path.

Two paramedics appeared on the path ahead of them a moment later carrying a collapsed stretcher. They introduced themselves as they opened the stretcher and gently helped Emma onto it. As much as she hated to admit it, it felt wonderful to get off her feet. Her head didn't spin as much and everyone's voices sounded clearer, at any rate.

Once she was situated, the lead paramedic, a young man named Anthony, handed Emma her salvation in the form of a bottle of spring water. It was even still cold! As Emma gulped what might as well have been heaven in a plastic bottle, Anthony, his colleague Kevin, and David pushed the stretcher down the worn path. "Just relax, Sheriff Swan," Anthony assured her. "We'll have you feeling better in no time."


	3. Chapter 3

Snow's poor baby girl was in the _hospital_ and all she wanted to do was go be by her side. There was, however, a problem: taking an infant to the hospital for an indefinite wait was not the best of ideas. Granny was of course more than willing to watch Neal, especially once Snow told her what was going on with Emma, but packing up a baby and his things to spend even just a couple of hours in the company of someone else was not a quick feat.

By the time she'd dropped Neal off with Granny, it felt as if an _eternity_ had passed since Charming's call. A check of the clock proved it had only been forty-five minutes but it was forty-five minutes during which Snow's panicking brain had spun all kinds of horrible scenarios about the reasons her poor baby girl could have passed out (both her and Charming's assurances to the contrary). Then came the actual drive to the hospital with even more horrible scenarios running through her mind. The closer she got, the more Snow's stomach knotted. When she burst into the emergency room, she was a nervous wreck.

The kindly older woman working the reception desk graced Snow with a kind, comforting smile as she approached. "You may go right in, Your Majesty. Sheriff Swan is in room three, around the corner to the left."

"Thank you," Snow smiled. Then, barely breaking her stride, she power-walked down the corridor the woman had indicated to find her poor sick baby girl.

Room three ended up being not all that hard to find. While the receptionist's directions were indeed precise, Snow pretty much just followed the sound of her little girl's complaints. A little breath of relief escaped her lips at the realization that Emma was both alert and feeling well enough to be her typical stubborn self.

"Why do we need to wait for the blood test?" a grumpy Emma was saying – whining, really. "We know it's dehydration. The blood test isn't going to show anything else."

"They just want to cover their bases," an exceedingly patient Charming assured her.

"Well, they've already taken my damn blood and they're running the test now. Why can't they let me go home while they're waiting for the results?"

"The bag of medicine isn't empty yet, love," Killian said gently.

At that point, Snow finally arrived at the room and peeked around the doorjamb. Charming sat in a chair on one side of the hospital bed and Killian was camped out in a second chair on the other. The tiny amount of relief Snow had felt melted away, her heart clenching in her chest, when her eyes landed on Emma.

Her poor sweet baby girl was sitting up in the hospital bed, her face practically the same pale shade as the sheets on which she was lying. The only spots of color at all were the dark circles under her eyes. Inserted in a vein in her left arm was an IV needled, which was connected to plastic tubing that was taped to her skin to hold it in place. The bag hanging on the IV stand beside the bed was only half-full. Her right arm bore a bandage from where they must have taken the blood for the aforementioned blood tests. There were wires attached to leads on her chest that connected her to the heart monitor above her bed.

"Oh, Emma," Snow breathed as she stepped into the room and perched at the foot of the bed. She wanted nothing more than to (very carefully) wrap her baby girl in the tightest hug imaginable.

The irritation on Emma's face melted slightly when she realized just how worried her mother was. "We've already been through this once with Killian," she said, giving her mom as big a smile as she could muster. "It looks a lot worse than it really is."

Since their baby girl had a maddening tendency to downplay her illnesses, Snow glanced over at Charming. He nodded in confirmation, which made Snow let out another soft breath of relief. "Her color will come back as she gets more hydrated," he elaborated. "That's her second bag of IV fluids. Dr. Whale wants that to be empty and her blood tests to come back before he releases her."

"So there's been no talk of admitting her?"

"Still in the room, you guys," Emma grumbled, waving her hand in the air. Killian swallowed a snicker.

"I'm sorry, sweetheart," Snow said with a sheepish smile. "Have they mentioned anything about admitting you?"

"No, thank God. Sitting here is bad enough."

Charming and Killian stifled chuckles. Snow gave her baby girl a calming smile – because the last thing they all needed was an antsy Emma on top of a cranky Emma – and asked, "Did they give you any idea how long the blood test results will take?"

Emma shrugged. "No. They didn't say how quickly the fluids would go down, either. I – well, my veins … you know what I mean – sucked down the first bag in the ambulance on the way here. This one's taking longer."

"You needed that first one in a big way, kiddo," Charming gently reminded her. "Plus, the bag from the ambulance was about half the size of this one."

"Yeah, well, it's still not going fast enough. I just want to get the hell out of here."

"You don't say," Killian teased, causing Emma to shoot him a weary glare.

Snow and Charming exchanged a smile. Every so often, Emma and Killian would have old-married-couple moments just like that, and it amused the hell out of everyone around them.

After letting the moment linger a beat, Snow reached out and gently grasped her daughter's right hand. There was something she could suggest to help pass the time for Emma but her stubborn daughter was not at all going to like it. "Why don't you try to rest for a little while?"

Just as Snow suspected, Emma refused. "I _am_ resting." She nodded towards the hospital bed to indicate that as far as she was concerned, the very fact that she was sitting in bed was more than enough rest.

Though Snow let out a soft sigh, she didn't push the issue. Her baby was her most stubborn when she was cranky.

After a brief moment of comfortable silence, a suddenly sheepish Emma asked, "Does Henry know? That I'm here, I mean."

"Yes," Snow answered. "He's with Regina and I asked her to keep him occupied until you were released because I figured your room would be overcrowded as it is. They won't be showing up here but I can't make any promises about once we get you home."

The relief that lit Emma's eyes told Snow she'd done the right thing. "Thanks." She waved her hand to indicate the IV and the heart monitor. "This stuff would only scare him and like I said, it looks worse than it is."

Snow ran her eyes over all the equipment in the room. It was scary for her to see her daughter hooked up to those machines; she couldn't even imagine how terrified a thirteen-year-old boy would be seeing his mother in such a condition. "Why the heart monitor?" she asked softly.

"It's just a precaution," Charming assured her. "They checked her heart in the ambulance, too, to make sure she didn't pass out from a cardiac event but the way her body sucked down those IV fluids, they knew right then that it was dehydration."

"Which is why making me sit here and wait for blood test results that aren't going to show anything is pointless," Emma piped up.

"They're just–" Killian started.

"–covering their bases," Emma finished. "Yeah, I know. It's still pointless."

"Pointless, perhaps," a smirking Dr. Whale said as he stepped into the room, "but a necessary precaution." Everyone in the room sat at attention and after greetings were exchanged, Whale delivered his verdict. "As expected, your blood test results came back normal. As soon as that bag of fluids is empty, we'll be able to release you. You're probably going to be tired and out of it for the next little while but that's normal. You'll need to keep drinking water as well, to help get your hydration level back up to where it should be."

"Thanks, doc," Emma said sincerely. Whale smiled at her, gave everyone else a goodbye nod, and left the room. There was silence for a beat, and then Emma deadpanned, "Wow. You throw a guy into a wall once and he's like a completely different guy."

Snow, Charming, and Killian all snickered, the joke a perfect expression of the lightening mood in the room. With the news that Emma's release was imminent, Snow did what she'd been itching to do since she sat down: wrapped her little girl in a very careful, comforting hug.

"I'm so glad you're all right," she whispered into her daughter's ear.

"I'm fine, Mom, honestly," Emma whispered back.

Snow pulled out of the hug and smiled at her little girl, brushing a wayward lock of hair behind Emma's ear. Then a miracle happened: when Snow went to reclaim her seat at the foot of the bed, Emma latched onto her hand. Snow smiled again as she grasped her daughter's hand and held it tight.

(Wisely, nobody called any attention to Emma's silent desire for her mother's comfort.)

"So, what shall we do to pass the time until that bag's empty, love?" Killian asked with a smile.

Emma leaned her head back against the upright mattress and smiled. "I want to hear one of your whoppers."

Again, Snow and Charming exchanged a smile. Killian's "whoppers" were grossly exaggerated stories from Killian's years on the sea. The former pirate had a knack for storytelling and these over-the-top pirate stories amused the hell out of Emma.

"All right, then, love, a whopper you shall hear."

He started spinning a tale about a storm that had arisen out of nowhere, turning the calm sea into a churning monster with walls of waves. "These waves, love, they were bigger than any I'd ever seen before and have ever seen since. The lightning was close enough to strike the sea in front of us and the rain poured down so hard and so fast that the deck was a veritable swimming pool within ten minutes."

Emma lovingly rolled her eyes at the details but dutifully asked, "So then what happened?"

"I tried to outrun it, of course, but this damnable thing followed me. Pirate's honor, love, it followed me. I went port, it went port. I went starboard, it went starboard. Hell, I even turned the whole ship around to double back the way we came, and it followed me. The really interesting thing, though, was that it was only raining aft. The stern was drenched. The bow was dry as a bone."

Snow swallowed a chuckle. She could see why Emma liked these stories, the more ridiculous the details, the better.

Emma was shaking her head. "All right, so how did you make this sentient storm go away and leave you alone?"

"I simply asked it to 'go away and leave me alone,' as you put it. I hollered to the heavens, though now the exact words I yelled are lost to my memory. Not even five minutes later, the sun was shining brightly and there was nary a cloud in the sky."

Everyone broke into snickers. "All right, as far as whoppers go, that was a good one," Emma admitted.

"Why, thank you, love."

"And look at that, Emma," Charming said, nodding up to her IV, "the bag's down a bit more."

Emma grinned, then covered with an exaggerated huff. "Thank _God_! I just want to go home."

Snow exchanged a loving look with both Charming and Killian over her head. Every so often, the lost little girl inside Emma reminded them that she was no longer lost, and this was one of those times. For the lost little girl wanted to _go home_ , and the three of them wanted nothing more than to take her there.


	4. Chapter 4

**Author's Note:** Happy premiere day! Our babies are back tonight. Whee! Also, because I haven't said it enough: you guys are awesome. :)

* * *

In Emma's little room at the ER, pleasant conversation had sprung up around her. It was clear that her mom, her dad, and her pirate were trying to distract her so she wouldn't spend every second watching her IV bag. Unfortunately, all the pleasant conversation in the world couldn't stop her from doing exactly that.

That bag was her key to freedom. As long as it still held fluids, she was stuck in this damn bed. Only when the bag was empty would Dr. Whale start processing her discharge papers.

She just wanted to get the hell out of here. Hell, she was beyond embarrassed that she was here in the first place. She'd worried everyone and she'd caused a fuss all because she hadn't thought to bring a bottle of water or two along on a hike through the woods on a hot day.

Talk about humiliating.

And so here she sat, half-listening to the conversation around her, vaguely aware of her mother's thumb running back and forth over the back of her hand, and most of her attention focused on the plastic bag of saline that would determine how much longer she had to sit in this damn room.

The bag had about a hundred milliliters of fluids left, which was a hundred milliliters too many, as far as Emma was concerned. Still, it shouldn't be too long now before the thing was empty and she could put this whole annoying, embarrassing day behind her.

"You know," David spoke up, startling Emma back to the present, "there's this whole saying about a watched pot and how it doesn't boil."

She felt the heat rising to her cheeks. "Yeah, well, I just don't want to waste any time. When that thing's empty, I am paging Dr. Whale so he can disconnect me from these damn machines and we can get the hell out of here. And while I'm thinking of it, we have some logistical issues to work out."

"Oh?" Killian asked.

"Specifically how we're all getting the hell out of here. We all came here separately," Emma reminded them. "Mom's car's here and you walked–"

Killian scratched at his ear, a sheepish smile tugging at his lips. "I think the proper term for what I did to get here was 'run like the wind,' love."

Emma couldn't help but smile. Her pirate could be such a dork, and she loved him for it. "Okay, I stand corrected. My point is, the cruiser is still parked on the access road in the woods and both my car and Dad's truck are at the station."

"Your mom can drop me off at the cruiser and then take you and Killian back to the station," David assured her at the same time as Snow said, "You're not driving home, Emma."

Her statement was met with three confused frowns. "What?" Emma asked, her voice low in both disappointment and annoyance.

The befuddled expression on Snow's face indicated that she didn't understand why this was even a question. "You _lost consciousness_! What if you pass out again behind the wheel?"

And Emma had thought this whole thing was humiliating before! Now her mom was looking to prohibit her from driving because of the highly unlikely possibility that she'd pass out again on the five-minute trip home from the station? "I won't! That's why I'm sitting here, so they can rehydrate me so I won't pass out again!"

"Your dad can take you home in your car and then we'll go back for the truck."

"No. I'm not an invalid. I'll drive my car home."

"No, you will not."

Emma blinked. Holy crap, she'd just been _mom-voiced_. The mom-voice was another thing that should not work on her at this stage of her life.

And yet, it did.

This was absolutely ridiculous! She felt fine. She wasn't even lightheaded anymore! There was no good reason why she couldn't drive herself home from the damn station. She flicked her gaze to David, her eyes silently begging him for assistance.

She did not mistake the way his eyes lit up when he realized she was asking him for help. And she did not mistake the calming smile that tugged at his lips as he gave her a nod, silently telling her to let him go to bat for her. "What if I rode with her and you drove the truck home?" David asked Snow, his voice impossibly gentle.

Snow pursed her lips as she considered that plan of action. Emma tried to refrain from looking too annoyed because honestly, this shouldn't even be a discussion.

As Snow mulled over her options, Emma's ever-perceptive pirate rested his hand on her knee and pressed a soft kiss to her temple. As he pulled away, he whispered so low that only she could hear, "She loves you and just wants to keep you safe."

And all at once, Emma softened. Her mom was completely overreacting but it was indeed coming from a place of love. Something stirred within her, something young and longing. All her life, she'd wanted this, wanted to be treated with such loving care. And now she had it, in all it's big, sweeping, mildly annoying glory. The annoyance was a small price to pay, though, especially considering the alternative.

"It's okay," Emma said, clearing her throat so she wouldn't sound choked up. "Dad can drive me home."

David and Snow both blinked at her, surprised that she'd given in so quickly. Thinking swiftly, she gave them both a teasing smirk. "I think maybe I deserve to have a chauffeur after everything I've been through today."

As she'd hoped, that got them to chuckle. "Of course you do," David said with a gentle squeeze of her hand. "And I promise to be the best chauffeur a daughter could ask for."

* * *

It took twenty minutes for the IV bag to finally empty and then an additional fifty minutes for the hospital to process her discharge papers. In between, Emma had had to page the nurse for assistance in disconnecting all the medical equipment attached to her so she could use the bathroom (because a liter and a half of fluids is _a lot_ to take in relatively all at once).

By the time she was able to leave the hospital with her entourage in tow, Emma's patience was completely shot. It was almost a relief, then, to be able to just get in the passenger side of first her mom's car and then her own, let her dad hop in the driver's seat, and not have to worry about a single thing.

Not that she was about to admit that to anyone, of course.

Once back at the apartment, both Killian and David helped her out of the car. (The help was unnecessary but she'd long since given up resisting it. As the saying went, resistance was futile; it was easier to just let them do it than it was to argue with them.) They also helped her up the stairs, which she again didn't have the energy to resist. Plus, there was still that little voice echoing in her head, a little voice that reminded her how much she'd wanted exactly this kind of fussing when she was growing up and how much it hurt that she'd never had it.

She just hoped her family got their fill of it now because the second she was feeling like herself again, their overprotective hovering was going to cease and desist.

"You doing all right, love?" Killian asked as they arrived at the top of the stairs.

Truthfully, she was a little winded. Dr. Whale had said she'd be tired and he certainly wasn't kidding. "Yeah, I'm all right," she said, forcing a smile. In the grand scheme of things, it was sort of the truth.

Able as ever to read her like a book, Killian smiled in such a way that let her know he didn't believe her in the slightest. Still, he didn't argue with her, just wrapped his arm around her shoulders and dropped a kiss on the side of her head.

Snow had beaten them home and had apparently put that time to good use by setting up the sofa for her ailing daughter. It was such a loving, motherly gesture that Emma didn't even have it in her to be annoyed or embarrassed over her mom babying her like this.

Her mom wasn't the only one who'd beaten them home. No sooner had Emma shrugged off her jacket, which Killian immediately took from her to hang on the coat hooks by the door, than Henry darted down the metal staircase, launched himself at her, and wrapped her in a tight hug. "Hey, easy, kid," she said as she squeezed him back. "I'm all right."

"I know," he said, looking up at her. "Mom told me what happened and that you were okay but it's always scary when you find out your mom was taken to the hospital in an ambulance."

Speaking of Henry's other mom, she came down the staircase then as well, causing another wave of embarrassment to wash over Emma. This whole damn thing had gotten entirely out of hand. How many more people needed to greet her after coming home from the ER?

David's words when they were in the woods came back to her then, as did Killian's from the hospital room. It was as if that little inner voice of hers was reminding her that these people loved her and cared about her and wanted to make sure she was all right. And while Emma figured Regina was more than likely only at the loft to greet her because she'd driven Henry, she did indeed give her a comforting little smile. "I'm glad to see you're feeling better, Emma."

"Thanks," Emma said sincerely.

At that point, Henry pulled out of the embrace, took his mom's hand, and tugged her over to the couch. "Gramma's going to make dinner soon," he said, oblivious to the touched smile on Emma's face and the amusement on everyone else's, "but we have time to at least start something."

Before Emma could even ask what "something" was, she saw what her kid had done. Her old laptop was set up on the coffee table, the Netflix screen ready and waiting for the perfect sick-day movie to be chosen.

She gave her wonderful kid a sideways hug and then waved her pirate over. He was always up for some Netflix.

As Emma settled on the couch with Killian and Henry, a blanket spread out over their laps, Snow, David, and Regina set about pulling everything together for dinner. Maybe it was the exhaustion from the day, maybe it was the hurt little girl she'd once been, but as Emma glanced around at her surroundings, she smiled. For there was that little voice inside of Emma again, whispering that this was how family was supposed to be.


	5. Chapter 5

**Author's Note:** Thank you all for being the best readers a girl could ask for. I hope you've enjoyed this little story!

* * *

He was supposed to be helping his wife and Regina get dinner on the table but Charming's attention kept wandering to the couch where his little girl was resting. At some point, she'd curled up on her side, her feet stretched out on Henry's lap and her head on a pillow on Hook's. Her eyes were closed, no doubt owing in equal parts to her own exhaustion and Hook's fingers gently running through her hair to help relax her. She must have been napping because Hook and Henry had given up all pretense of watching whatever Netflix movie Emma had chosen and were talking softly instead.

"Earth to Charming," Snow said, startling Charming out of his reverie. He turned in the direction of the sound and found both Snow and Regina looking at him with gentle smirks on their faces.

"She seems to be doing well," Regina assured him as she hefted a stack of dinner plates onto the island. Charming took the stack over to the kitchen table so he could get to work setting it for dinner. "Her color's come back, anyway. She was pale when you all arrived."

"Her color was actually better when we got here than it was in the hospital," Charming murmured, his eyes once again traveling to his little girl. She looked so comfortable that he couldn't help but smile despite both his concern for her and the tiny pang of overprotective-dad rankling that still came from seeing her with Hook. "And it goes without saying that her color at the hospital was better than the moment it happened."

"I bet that was so scary for you," Snow said softly as she stirred the alfredo sauce simmering on the stove. Chicken broccoli alfredo was the only way she could get both Emma and Henry to stomach the green vegetable.

It was indeed. One of the scariest things he'd ever experienced. "I turned around and she just went down," Charming confirmed. He'd gotten the six plates set out and returned to the island for the glasses. "I don't think she was out even thirty seconds but it seemed as if it took forever to bring her around. I'm not at all ashamed to admit that I was _terrified_."

Both women gave him understanding smiles. "You may have been terrified but you handled it masterfully," Snow assured him.

"Thank you," he said, smiling back. "I'm afraid I did let one thing fall by the wayside, however. First thing on my agenda tomorrow is backtracking that call and making a point to the boy who called about the nonexistent kitten in the first place about wasting police time and resources."

"Leave that to me," Regina said. "I think one of my first mayoral missions after retaking the office will be making sure that certain of Storybrooke's children understand that the sheriff's emergency line is for real emergencies."

Snow and Charming exchanged a surprised and touched glance. "Thank you," Charming said.

Regina nodded at him. Charming carried the glasses over to the table and set them out above the plates. When he went back for the silverware, Snow said, "Dinner's almost ready. I hate that I'm even asking this but will you wake her? If it were up to me, I'd just let her sleep but …"

She didn't even have to finish her sentence. Charming didn't even want to imagine the crankiness that would ensue if Emma awoke to find her entire family had let her miss a meal. "Of course," he smiled. He set the silverware in place on the table before ducking into the living room to wake his poor baby girl.

Hook and Henry smiled at him as he approached. "Is it almost dinnertime?" Henry asked.

"Indeed it is," Charming replied. "Snow sent me in here to wake your mom."

Henry frowned. "She'll be grouchy."

Hook stifled a snicker. "Something tells me she'll be grouchier if we let her sleep through dinner, lad."

Charming sent the pirate a smirk. That was certainly the truth. With a glance over shoulder to make sure his wife wasn't looking, he sat down on the coffee table. (Snow had a semi-strict moratorium on sitting on the non-sitting furniture. As such, the members of her family only attempted to do so if they didn't mind taking their life in their hands.) "Emma," Charming murmured, his voice soft as he gave her shoulder a gentle shake. "It's time to wake up."

Emma wrinkled her nose as she inhaled deeply and stretched her arms over her head. Henry grinned when Hook ducked out of the way to avoid being accidentally hit in the face. Her eyes fluttered open a moment later. "There you are," Charming smiled.

"Hey." She sat up, a light blush coloring her cheeks as it hit her that she'd inadvertently fallen asleep on her boys. "Is dinner ready?"

Now the guys all swallowed snickers. "Aye, love," Hook said.

"Good, 'cause I'm starving."

A smiling Charming held out his hand to his daughter. Though she rolled her eyes, she did grasp it and allowed him to help her stand. "You doing all right?" he asked her.

"Yeah," she replied.

Hook and Henry ducked out of the room ahead of them, leaving father and daughter alone for a moment. Charming looked his little girl over. It was clear that she was still tired and a little dazed but he knew there would be no talking her into just staying on the couch and resting. Still, he tried anyway. "If you want to stay out here, I can bring you a plate–"

"No, I'm eating with my family."

The words touched his heart. Her family. After all those lonely years, she finally had a family and she wasn't about to give it up for anything. "I had to try," he said, giving her a soft smile.

To his surprise, she smiled back. "I know. And Dad?"

"Yes?"

"Thank you. For taking care of me today, I mean."

His heart had been lighter than air before but now it soared. Blinking back sudden tears, he pressed a kiss to the side of her head. "You're very welcome. I'll always take care of you, kiddo. Forever and always."


End file.
